Chapter 336
The great emperor who ruled half the continent gradually went mad, suffering from the fear of death.
Obsessed with the desire to not die, he investigated all ancient ruins on the continent and organized his own secret unit to collect artifacts, claiming he would find the method for immortality.
When the continent’s one and only emperor fell into madness, things that seemed impossible became reality.
This expedition was also one of the eccentric actions brought about by the emperor’s madness.
‘Though he’s overcoming the illness, his madness remains the same.’
Although the situation wasn’t exactly positive, Calito was confident he could do anything as long as it benefited him, even if the person before him was a madman.
“Your Majesty, I, Calito, am ready to do anything for Your Majesty.”
The emperor burst into hearty laughter at those words.
“Calito, truly there is no loyalist like you.”
Calito raised his head, believing his words had satisfied the emperor.
But then the cultist mages behind him rushed at him.
“W-what are you doing?!”
Calito desperately resisted and tried to activate the artifacts he was wearing.
CRACKLE!
However, the artifacts only sparked and didn’t work at all.
It seemed a magic interference device was laid throughout the tent.
Calito shouted toward Gillian who was beside him.
“C-commander! We need to escape from here!”
When he urgently turned his head to the side, Calito saw an unbelievable sight.
“Ugh…”
Something invisible was gripping Gillian’s body, preventing him from moving at all.
No matter how much he tried to resist, he seemed unable to break free.
Gillian strained so hard that veins popped out all over his body, but it was useless.
“AAAAAGH!”
Though Gillian tried to summon his aura to escape somehow, the invisible force only bound him tighter.
Calito trembled as he saw even Gillian, whom he had trusted, get captured.
The mages grabbed Calito’s head and tilted it back.
Then one mage came from behind holding a golden basin.
Strange colored smoke was rising from the basin.
“Let go! Let go!”
The mages grabbed Calito’s mouth and forced it open.
“MMMMPH!”
The mage holding the basin poured an unknown liquid into Calito’s mouth.
GULP! GULP! GULP!
Held by the mages, Calito had no choice but to drink all of the unknown liquid.
“UGH…”
His head spun, his vision shook, and he suffered from auditory and visual hallucinations.
Meanwhile, the mages joined hands and began chanting spells as they circled around the immobilized Gillian and collapsed Calito.
The cultists’ voices chanting in an incomprehensible, bizarre language pierced the ears of the two men.
“URGH!”
Calito felt the mysterious liquid spreading through his blood vessels as his body curled up like a shrimp.
His limbs trembled and pain that felt like his eyeballs would burst filled his body.
“GAAAGH!”
The mages’ chanting and screams filled the tent.
Beyond the curtain, the emperor took shallow breaths and spoke with satisfaction as he listened to Calito and Gillian’s screams.
“Your loyalty shall make the empire even stronger.”
* * *
‘A secret organization within the Holy Kingdom?.’
The Golden Dawn Society that Beatrice explained was none other than a revolutionary organization formed to eliminate corruption and correct the wrongdoings in the Holy Kingdom.
Even more surprising was that this organization had descended from the Dawn Society where Fab and Laura had been active.
Beatrice said that when she was young, she was almost captured by slave traders along with children from Lubern but was rescued by Lord Fab and was able to enter the monastery.
Growing up with respect for Lord Fab, she took on the surname Valencia herself and while active as a member of the Golden Dawn Society, the Mark of the Sun appeared while she was praying to God, leading her to ascend to the position of Pope.
Zeke nodded as he heard her words.
“Amazing. I had no idea Your Holiness had a connection to Lord Fab. I also didn’t know there was a Golden Dawn Society within the Holy Kingdom.”
“The Dawn Society’s activities of rescuing Lubern’s bloodline were inherited by the Rose Society, and within the Holy Kingdom, the secret society continued its legacy under the name Golden Dawn Society.”
She spoke while looking at the situation board on the wall.
“As Sir Zeke knows, the situation in the Holy Kingdom is not good. The clergy, who should be most pure, pay no attention to the wellbeing of the faithful and only seek to fill their own pockets.”
Zeke spoke while looking at Beatrice.
“I understand. As we passed through the port to come here, we had to face terrible realities. The faithful who didn’t receive the holy kingdom’s protection became sacrifices to orc hordes, and those captured by the imperial army that violated our territory are being offered as sacrifices for evil magic.”
Beatrice closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly feeling deep sorrow and anger at Zeke’s words.
When she opened her eyes again, the gentle gaze that had made her appear innocent was gone, replaced by the fierce eyes of a warrior burning with intensity.
“The Golden Dawn Society will take this opportunity to reform the corrupt holy kingdom and protect the faithful.”
While nodding at her firm resolve, Zeke asked Beatrice.
“Your Holiness. The Orc Legion approaches from the front, and the Imperial Army draws near to the Holy Nation from the sides. In this situation, if the Cardinals and Bishops who hold power notice Your Holiness’s intentions and cause internal strife, Vadoka will fall.”
Even with strong castle walls, internal division would render them useless.
At those words, Beatrice’s expression hardened.
She wanted to deal with them all immediately, but the situation made it difficult.
Beatrice clutched her head and said.
“……I know. That’s why I can’t do anything about those people and have to leave them be like this. But I’m worried that the longer this continues, the more the Holy Nation will deteriorate until it can never rise again.”
The complex structure of the Holy Nation of Vadoka created an intertwined political power structure.
Even if the Golden Dawn Society eliminated some of those currently in power, other greedy individuals waiting for an opportunity would immediately fill those positions.
Zeke looked at Beatrice and said:
“Your Holiness, I have a way to save the Holy Nation.”
At those words, Beatrice suddenly raised her head.
“Sir Zeke, what method do you speak of?”
Then Zeke looked at Beatrice and said:
“This method requires Your Holiness’s help.”
“I will do anything to save the Holy Nation.”
Zeke nodded at Beatrice’s firm voice.
He approached her and whispered something in her ear.
Beatrice’s face hardened after hearing Zeke’s words.
“Sir Zeke. Will this method work on them?”
“They are greedy people, so they will surely fall for the trap.”
Beatrice bit her lip in contemplation.
Then she soon nodded.
“I will do as Sir Zeke says.”
At Beatrice’s decision, Zeke took something out of his inventory.
A plain-looking cup.
It was none other than one of the holy relics, the ‘Holy Grail’.
Zeke held the Holy Grail and said.
“This Holy Grail will create a new opportunity for the Holy Nation of Vadoka.”
Chairman Pierre hurried to the grand conference room of the parliament after receiving an urgent message from other cardinals and bishops.
There, the cardinals and bishops were sitting with serious expressions.
Pierre’s face was similar after hearing the news.
When he sat down, one of the cardinals spoke to Pierre.
“Chairman, what exactly is going on with the current situation?”
Pierre pressed his temples as if he had a headache.
The news delivered to him was that Zeke Draker had presented the Holy Grail received from the Fairy King to the Pope, who then used it to grant stronger powers to the paladins participating in this holy war.
Pierre and the high priests of the Holy Nation were well aware of the capabilities of the Fairy King’s Holy Grail.
This was because Vadoka secretly kept records of hidden historical accounts.
Pierre had the authority to view these records, which included information about the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker and the Light Mage Claudia Lubern.
The secret history recorded that Terakan Draker awakened to new powers through the Holy Grail and defeated the evil dragon Bahamut.
He and other high priests, as well as senior paladins, would surely know this fact and couldn’t help but be interested in the power granted by the Holy Grail.
Moreover, as clergy members rise in rank, they gain more power through financial and political influence.
But the situation was different for paladins.
They needed to achieve a stronger state to earn the name of Arch Paladin.
Paladins becoming private soldiers under more powerful clergy members was also to meet various conditions for becoming stronger.
However, if the Pope used the Holy Grail to make them stronger more quickly, they would lose control over the paladins.
Pierre gritted his teeth as he thought of Zeke, who suddenly appeared and stirred up the Vadoka Holy Nation by pulling out the Holy Grail unexpectedly.
‘To stab us in the back like this…’
Vadoka had its own way of doing things.
Pierre thought Zeke would soon come to him, bow his head in apology for his rudeness on the first day, and try to adapt to Vadoka step by step.
But he hadn’t expected him to take control by pulling out the Holy Grail like this.
Another bishop stood up abruptly and shouted at Pierre.
“The paladins under my command are already stirring! They say they’re watching carefully, worried they might be too late to receive the Holy Grail’s blessing!”
Other council members nodded with worried expressions at those words.
Currently, there was no way to stop the paladins from leaving their factions to go to the Pope.
Since they were originally holy knights who swore allegiance to the church, it was natural for them to become the Pope’s sword, who stood at the head of the church.
With just one Holy Grail, the Pope had captured the hearts of all paladins in the Holy Nation.
Starting with one bishop’s outcry, the conference hall soon became noisy with council members’ anxious accusations and loud voices.
Pierre, who had been quietly listening to the other members’ words, slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Then he spoke to the others.
“Quiet.”
At Pierre’s words, the council members who had been shouting heatedly stopped talking and sat down again.
In fact, Chairman Pierre was the most troubled of all.
Since he had the most paladins under his command, he would be hit hardest if defections to the Pope’s side began.
He looked around at the council members and spoke.
“You all seem too worried.”
Pierre continued speaking while calming the council members.
“Even with the Holy Grail, the current Pope doesn’t have the power to move so many paladins. As you know, paladins are practically walking money bags. How can the Pope’s office maintain paladins without budget approval from the council?”
The council members thought about Pierre’s words and soon nodded.
They had paid a great price using illegally accumulated wealth to draw paladins to their factions.
As a result, paladins became more wealthy and luxurious than knights of any other kingdom.
It was impossible for the Pope to bear the costs for such paladins.
The power received from the Holy Grail was temporary, but the pleasure and luxury given by material wealth was long and sweet.
The council members believed the paladins would never give up that life.
But then someone hurriedly entered the grand conference room.
A priest approached Chairman Pierre and whispered something.
Pierre jumped up from his seat in surprise after hearing the whisper.
“You’re saying Lord Baord entered the Pope’s office?”
The other council members were also surprised at those words.
Baord Corbbacio.
He was one of the four Arch Paladins existing in the Vadoka Holy Nation.
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